We appear to be sharing our holiday with other walkers. The first are seasoned Inntravellers with 30 years experience, the second are the retired couple from Illinois mentioned yesterday. Although we aren’t walking together as a group, our paths cross occasionally and it feels odd to be sharing ‘our’ routes and hotels with others, despite how friendly they are.
Today we walked from Beaulieu sur Dordogne to Le Port de Gagnac on the river Cere. 12 kms with an ascent of 370m and descent of 360m. Not sure why we’re sharing this with you but, if the French really cared about tourism, they would have built a nice flat tunnel for us to walk through.
Our route started by crossing the Dordogne, through a park with some interesting holiday cabins on stilts. Quite a reminder of the flooding risk. Sadly, there was no photo of the lovely looking motorhome site on the opposite bank.
The toughest climbing was during the first half of the route, past walnut groves, beehives and through woodland. To guide us, we have waymarks, written instructions, GPX files and a map. Despite all this, there were regular debates about the correct route. At the top of the ridge we were treated to some stunning views back across the valley before winding our way back to Le Port de Gagnac through the pretty hamlets of Fontmerle and La Poujade.
Tonight we stay in Auberge Vieux Ports, overlooking the River Cere. It’s a lovely location and we move on tomorrow with a longer, hillier walk.
Finally, the upside down town signs? It turns out they are a protest by French farmers to raise the visibility of their challenges in trying to compete with foreign imports while at the same time trying to meet the plethora of conflicting agricultural regulations – ‘nous marchons sur la tete’ which make us walk on our heads.
braysabroad 